flexiblefullpage - default
Currently Reading

A New Normal? Why Experts Are Calling Today’s Housing Market an ‘Ice Age'

Advertisement
billboard - default
Market Data + Trends

A New Normal? Why Experts Are Calling Today’s Housing Market an ‘Ice Age'

The housing market is going through a deep freeze as elevated interest rates keep sellers on the sidelines and send available housing inventory to new lows


May 24, 2023
House on pile of ice next to stack of coins
Image: zhenya / stock.adobe.com

Timing is everything in today’s ever-changing housing market, but predicting the best time to buy or sell a home is as dependable as a coin toss, according to Insider. Those who purchased their homes before the mid-pandemic housing boom reaped the benefits of ultra-low mortgage rates and reasonably priced housing. Now, however, with mortgage rates hovering in the 6% to 7% range and home prices just below their peaks, buyers are getting cold feet. 

Today’s homeowners have little incentive to move, as doing so would mean refinancing at a much higher rate and contending with less affordable monthly payments. It’s a scenario some experts worry will become a “new normal” even after 2023.

The housing market has changed for good — and with the benefit of time-earned wisdom, we can pinpoint the moment it entered a new era. If July 2020 was the make-or-break moment for the market, we may now be seeing the crystallized "new normal": a fraught landscape defined by a scarcity of available homes, borrowing rates that have sharply rebounded from their historic lows, and homeowners who feel locked in by the deals they scored earlier in the pandemic. Call it the Housing Ice Age.

Read more

 

Related Stories

Market Data + Trends

The Biggest Hurdle for Housing Is Seller Hesitation, Experts Say

Elevated borrowing costs are currently affecting both homebuyers and sellers, with buyers hesitant to spend and sellers unwilling to list and sacrifice the lower rates they've locked in on their current homes

Affordability

A Lack of Listings Is Driving Up Home Prices

Despite fast-rising mortgage rates, home prices continue to increase as hesitant home sellers retreat, limiting the supply of homes for sale

Housing Markets

These Western States Are Seeing Their First Annual Price Declines in Years

Home prices are still rising throughout most of the U.S., but seven Western markets are posting their largest declines in years

Advertisement
boombox1 -
Advertisement
native1 - default
halfpage2 -

More in Category



Advertisement
native2 - default
Advertisement
halfpage1 -

Create an account

By creating an account, you agree to Pro Builder's terms of service and privacy policy.


Daily Feed Newsletter

Get Pro Builder in your inbox

Each day, Pro Builder's editors assemble the latest breaking industry news, hottest trends, and most relevant research, delivered to your inbox.

Save the stories you care about

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet lorem ipsum dolor sit amet lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.

The bookmark icon allows you to save any story to your account to read it later
Tap it once to save, and tap it again to unsave

It looks like you’re using an ad-blocker!

Pro Builder is an advertisting supported site and we noticed you have ad-blocking enabled in your browser. There are two ways you can keep reading:

Disable your ad-blocker
Disable now
Subscribe to Pro Builder
Subscribe
Already a member? Sign in
Become a Member

Subscribe to Pro Builder for unlimited access

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.